With the national convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC schedule for this year ahead of the 2019 general election, expectations are high by party stalwarts that the party will elect a chairman with a clear agenda to reposition, restructure and rebrand the party for it to have the potency and vibrancy of recording a successful outing as it had in 2015.
There is no doubt that the party has lost the overwhelming support it once enjoyed from many Nigerians on account of the seeming lack of capacity to deliver good governance, which is noted not only from the presidency but also in state governors, many of whom have failed in their beats.
The tenure of the party’s present National Working Committee led by the chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun is expected to end on June 13 at the convention when new executives are to be elected.
To some party stalwarts, Odigie-Oyegun has not highly upheld the party’s ethos and norms as discipline, internal democracy and respect for fair play which are the hallmark of progress are somewhat lacking in the party at present.
While Odigie-Oyegun seeking a return to the position of chairmanship, some of the party faithful, especially those believe to be ‘super’ allegiant to the national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are quick to point out reasons why he may not be a better choice to lead the party into the general election next year.
To this group of individuals Odigie-Oyegun failed to harmonise various interests by some members of the party, a development which according to them threatens the unity of the party.
They opined that some of the party members at the National Assembly often choose to operate on their own most of the time by alienating themselves from the executive. Persistently, they stressed, that the APC lawmakers have been at the loggerheads with the executive arm, even until recently, while semblance of orderliness and normalcy seems to prevail.
Governors, it is also said, constantly act on their own and ditto for party members across the nation. The same goes for party organs at the state and local government levels simply because the national leadership is not providing the platform for proper co-ordination and cohesion.
With these indices there are indications that Odigie-Oyegun’s ambition will be stalled.
But contrary to the submissions by the concerned individuals, the main reason that might negate Odigie-Oyegun’s bid is what many argued to be his fall out with Tinubu.
Tinubu rose to the position of real influence and prominence because of his hold on Lagos politics and the roles he played in breaking the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti states as the leader of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.
Then his role in the merger that brought about the All Progressives Congress and the success the party recorded at the last general election further enhanced his profile as a political godfather.
Odigie-Oyegun, with the weight Tinubu pulls in the ranks of the party, has more troubles to fear.
Both heavyweights fell out following the division that trail the APC’s governorship primary in Ondo State, which snowballed into crisis within the party and thrown up political intrigues capable of damaging its chances in the forthcoming general election.
Tinubu called for the resignation of Odigie-Oyegun, as the national chairman, saying he had “dealt a heavy blow to the very party he professes to lead” by derailing from the path of progressives.
But Oyegun has, however, declined to comment on Tinubu’s statement, saying he would need to consult before replying the party’s national leader, which political experts have described as understandable, considering that the latter had played a big role in the former’s emergence as the party’s national chairman.
Oyegun however declined to insinuations that Tinubu was responsible for his emergence as the ruling party’s National Chairman, as some people are alleging that he has not been fair to those who assisted him to emerge chairman of the party, especially the national leader, adding that everybody in the party and not a particular individual aided his emergence.
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According to him, “Everybody assisted me to this position and I am grateful to all of them. The only thing is my personality and integrity; I don’t joke with these two things because they are the only currency that I have and I will defend them at any time.
“I don’t believe one particular person solely assisted me to this position, everybody assisted me and someday, the story of how I became chairman of APC will be told.
“You will then see that everybody did assist me to become National Chairman. This means that I am there for everybody. I don’t belong to any camp in the APC. I belong to all members of APC high and below.”
He further maintained that his personality and integrity would help him sustain his bid as the convention approaches and to deliver the party’s mandate in the election.
But many watchers of political event, especially those from the Southeast and Southsouth geopolitical zones, have expressed doubt on the view of the chairman, noting that the party’s poor outing in Anambra governorship election, local council poll in Delta State, and most significantly the disappointment in President Muhammadu Buhari administration, who according to many have performed below expectations.
“APC cannot win election come 2019,” former presidential candidate of National Conscience Party, NCP, Martin Onovo said.
“Everybody including his supporters and APC chieftain agree that his government is a catastrophic failure and according to Dr Femi Aribisala, this is the worst government in Nigeria and anybody who is objective would know that Aribisala is right.
“If you look at security Boko Haram is attacking again, herdsmen attacks in Benue and Adamawa. Crimes are arising everyday like robbery, kidnapping, rape and rituals. Yet a government that has failed to perform is boasting of coming back desperately, trying to force itself back on the people. I know that their plans will fail; I repeat, their plan will fail.
“APC will be sent away from the presidency. The Nigerian people we are over 200 million we cannot be governed by a bunch of unpatriotic person who want to take advantage of their mindless looking of the economy. It is very unfortunate because even their own supporters are disappointed. Many of the APC stalwarts have called the government monumental failure.
“There is no way this catastrophic failed government can win the heart of Nigerians again. This government will lose in 2019 polls. We will retire Buhari compulsorily. Note, it is not voluntarily; it is compulsory retirement. He is too old and incompetent. His government is catastrophic failure.
“He has moved the country back by 30 years and that is the reason we must retire him. He has no vision other than political domination and his government is the most corrupt. 25 billion dollars NNPC contract scam, with 50 billion they unlawfully kept away from the TSA. The diversion of materials meant for IDPs. Everybody knows what is happening in this country. They are looting the treasury for 2019 but their loots will not help them to secure victory at the polls. The 200 million Nigerians will retire Buhari compulsorily,” he said.
Meanwhile, Odigie-Oyegun has revealed how his party will take over the control of power in the south-east and south-south zones in 2019.
Oyegun made the disclosure at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja while inaugurating a four-member strategic committee led by Otunba Niyi Adebayo to do a forensic analysis of the reasons why the APC lost the just concluded Anambra State governorship election to pave way for other elections ahead of next year’s polls.
According to him, the south-east and the south-south would be crucial and critical for the APC victory in the elections.
“It is critical that the south-east and south-south – the geographical zones that have contributed immensely to the survival of this nation – must fully be represented in what is going on to be a truly national government of the APC in 2019.
“I want to be partisan here, we want a situation where we will win handsomely in the south east. I mentioned the south-south when I started. The circumstances are slightly different. But we are going to have the same type of strategic team for the south south.
“The issues are different. The environment is different. But it is necessary also that we bring the south-south into the national power framework that we expect to emerge in 2019,” he said.
